Following the Rules

Jillien Flores of the Managed Funds Association on how rulemakers can best rethink overly-onerous regulations for alternative asset managers, and the "misguided" policies they should avoid

Today’s guest calls on regulators and policymakers to stop seeking to regulate alternative asset managers like they’re banks.
She details how policymakers can best rethink the regulatory framework for the non-bank sector to benefit not only alternative asset managers but also the financial sector more broadly.
And she explains how a push to harmonise the rulebooks between competing financial hub could also help with a broader push to bolster jurisdictional competitiveness.
Jillien Flores is a regulatory affairs specialist whose 17-year career includes seven years at government relations firm Porterfield, Lowenthal, Fettig & Sears where she helped to shape several of the US’s landmark regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
She spent six years advocating on regulatory issues for asset manager Vanguard before leaving in 2021 to join the Managed Funds Association, a trade group representing the world's biggest hedge funds, where she now serves as Chief Advocacy Officer.
 
---Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation

Edwin Schooling Latter, ex-FCA regulator now Mizuho's UK compliance head, on the reforms that could unlock "big savings" and the lessons we missed from recent failures of major financial institutions

Today’s guest pinpoints the “very technical” but overly complex regulatory requirements underpinning financial markets that he believes regulators could rethink to generate “big savings” for both themselves and the market participants they oversee.
He discusses the lessons he would like to see industry players take on board and the changes he believes policymakers should consider in their efforts to prevent a repeat of recent high-profile failures including the collapse of Swiss lender Credit Suisse and family office Archegos.
And he should know. Because Edwin Schooling Latter’s career not only includes just over a decade overseeing critical aspects of wholesale market policy and supervision on behalf of the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority but also eight months as Credit Suisse’s primary relationship manager with the Prudential Regulation Authority and the FCA during the bank’s collapse.
He spent a year as senior international policy adviser at UBS, following its acquisition of Credit Suisse, before joining Japanese bank Mizuho in late 2024 as its UK head of compliance. 
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Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation

ESMA chair Verena Ross on her to-do list for 2025, simplifying the EU financial rulebook, and life at the helm of the watchdog

Today’s guest discusses the European Securities and Markets Authority’s to-do list for 2025, and she explains the regulator’s priorities as it responds to an EU-wide effort to simplify the bloc’s rulebook.
She outlines ESMA’s expectations of market participants subject to its landmark reforms on digital operational resilience and crypto-assets and she details how she plans to make sure both regimes are implemented in as effective a way as possible.  
She also opens up about life at the helm of the EU watchdog, her strategies for navigating “difficult market periods” and plenty more besides.
Verena Ross’s 30-year career includes roles helping to shape various aspects of financial services policy at regulators including the Bank of England and FCA predecessor the Financial Services Authority.  She joined ESMA in 2011 and has been the organisation’s chair since November 2021.
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Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation

Capstone's Mathew Gilbert on navigating Trump 2.0, and the regulatory changes needed to drive "tangible" growth in the UK and EU

Today’s guest outlines how he expects financial services regulators in the UK and European Union to react to President Trump’s increasingly erratic policymaking.
He details the regulatory changes he believes are needed to ensure the UK government achieves its growth mission and he highlights what Brussels must get right if the EU is serious about remaining globally competitive.
He also explains why it is imperative that governments — from London to Washington — pay close attention to the quiet storm building in global bond markets.
Mathew Gilbert brings two decades of experience to this conversation, including roles at hedge fund Abaco Asset Management and boutique investment bank KBW. Since 2016, he has led government policy and regulatory strategy firm Capstone’s European operations from London, advising financial institutions’ C-suites, and investors navigating today’s fast-evolving regulatory landscape.
Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation...

Governance expert Vera Cherepanova on why ethics and compliance professionals need a more influential voice in the boardroom, and the obstacles standing in their way

Today’s guest is on a mission to bring ethics and compliance to the top table.
She explains why ethics and compliance professionals should be given a seat in the boardroom and what’s stopping them from getting there. 
She also discusses how businesses and their compliance executives can best navigate today’s increasingly fragmented regulatory environment, and she shares practical steps boards can take to embrace ESG and DEI principles amidst ongoing backlash without getting caught in the crossfire.
Vera Cherepanova has spent two decades working in audit, compliance, and ethics, including roles at global professional services firm EY and as an independent adviser to companies worldwide. Since 2024, she has worked as the executive director of Boards of the Future, a nonprofit working with boards, professionals, and investors in the US, UK, and EU to ensure ethics, compliance, and risk experts have a voice in corporate governance.
 
Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation...
 

TP ICAP's Nik Bunney on rethinking surveillance at the world’s largest interdealer broker and what the City needs from the FCA on non-financial misconduct

Today’s guest explains how the world’s largest interdealer brokers is rethinking its approach to surveillance. 
He outlines the benefits of adopting a more behaviourally led methodology to monitor financial services workers’ conduct, which he says provides a more holistic view of workplace culture when run alongside traditional surveillance.
He details the common mistakes finance bosses should avoid when seeking to measure workplace conduct and culture. And he discusses what guidance the Financial Conduct Authority must provide the market to ensure its efforts to more closely track City worker’s non-financial misconduct are truly effective.
Nik Bunney spent just under 13 years as a broker before moving into compliance monitoring in 2018. He joined broking giant TPICAP in 2023 and since 2024, he has run its targeted surveillance team. He will be explaining exactly what it is that department does in this episode. 
 
Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on the FT's Banking, Risk and Regulation...
 
***PODCAST NOTES***
Behavioural risk experts Dr. Wieke Scholten and David Grosse outline where the banking sector and its regulators are going wrong in their approach to managing their cultural concerns
ABCD: Finding Happiness through Awareness, Values, Principles, and Actions
 

Melissa Gallagher, JP Morgan's EMEA head of compliance, on future-proofing the back office amidst technological and regulatory change

Today’s guest outlines how the compliance function, and those working within it, can best navigate today’s rapidly changing technological and regulatory environment.
She discusses the industry's response to increasing regulatory scrutiny around surveillance as well as on bankers’ non-financial misconduct.
And she explains why in amongst all the change it is critical that compliance officers do not to lose sight of the “foundational building blocks” of their role. 
Melissa Gallagher has spent 30 years working in various compliance roles most recently at large US banks in London. With a background in sales and trading compliance, she has run the compliance and operational risk function in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for US banking giant JP Morgan since 2019. 
 

Alan Houmann, Citigroup's former government affairs head in Emea, on navigating rising populism and what not to do in response to "disturbing" government policies

Today’s guest outlines how he expects the rightward shift in global politics, from Trump’s resurgence to Europe’s own populist movements, is likely to reshape financial services regulation in the UK and EU. 
He discusses how bank lobbyists and policymakers can navigate these shifting tides, why the industry’s “disturbing” response to the US ban on federal diversity and inclusion programmes must serve as a wake-up call, and how he believes UK and EU policymakers can best drive growth in this era of rising political uncertainty.
And he should know. Because Alan Houmann’s near 40-year career includes stints as an economist at the UK Treasury, advising the European Commission and FCA predecessor the Financial Services Authority on financial services policy, and 16 years leading government affairs across EMEA for US banking giant Citigroup. Since 2023, he has worked as a trustee for thinktank Chatham House and in 2024 he became senior policy adviser to consultancy Rud Pedersen. 

London Stock Exchange CEO Julia Hoggett on the changes needed to boost the City and its capital markets

Today’s guest outlines why she believes the government’s efforts to boost the UK’s economic growth are more likely to succeed if they include a fundamental shift in how the City talks about its capital markets and a rethink of how the City’s regulators are incentivised to support the growth mission. She also discusses the remaining regulatory steps needed to encourage more retail and domestic participation in London’s capital markets, and ultimately give the UK’s equity capital markets a long-anticipated boost. 
Julia Hoggett’s career includes several senior roles at some of the world’s largest banks, and a seven-year stint at the Financial Conduct Authority. Since 2021, she has run the London Stock Exchange as its CEO. 

Special episode: Smarsh's Kim Crawford Goodman and CallCabinet's Ryan Kahan on the regulatory trends set to shape communications surveillance in 2025

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Smarsh, a global technology firm providing financial services companies of all sizes around the world with the tools to capture, store, and monitor their communications. 
Today’s guests discuss the regulatory priorities they believe will have the greatest influence on financial institutions’ communications surveillance programmes in 2025 and beyond. They detail the common mistakes finance bosses must avoid when seeking to respond to these increasing regulatory demands. 
And they outline how the vast volumes of communications data currently being gathered by financial institutions for compliance purposes can also be used strategically to help these same institutions grow their businesses. 
Kim Crawford Goodman is CEO of Smarsh. Ryan Kahan is co-founder and CEO of CallCabinet, a technology firm recently acquired by Smarsh, which captures voice and video communications data.